MS Prepares Slim XBOX360, Kinectic (1 Viewer)

[Hanson]

Well, it's appears that Kinect is NOT the colossal failure I had anticipated it to be:


Kinect For XBOX 360 Surpasses 4 Million Units Sold


I have tried it -- it totally sucks. But it's apparently novel enough that enthusiastic casual gamers are glowing over it. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that appearing to be cool is more important than actually being good.

 

[Ferrised]

Works great for me, did you have problems getting it to work or was it you did not find it useful? Wife and I use it for windows media extender and exercise programs. Also been great as video chat for kids and grandkids.

 

[Hanson]

It was just a series of wild gesticulations. I mean, it's seemingly fun, but there really no gaming involved, just... a series of wild gesticulations. Fun for the non-gamer crowd, I suppose, but it just felt random.


Also, the distance you need from the device would make it impossible to run in my living room. If you moved the coffee table completely out of the way, it still would be

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I think that MS was definitely trying to go after the casual crowd with Kinect. The idea is that almost everyone has a 360 anyway, so they might as well make something that the non-gamers can use and start having fun with the console. In other words, it's Nintendo's 2006 strategy.


I haven't played Kinect but I've read a lot, talked with friends, and seen some in-store demos. I wanted to buy it but don't anymore, or at least not as much as I used to. I think the PS Move is accepted as being superior technology as an interactive gaming platform, but it's too similar to the Wii for people to want it and the games haven't delivered yet.

 

[brianflick]

Kinect seems like it may be pretty cool but I'm not a fan of the new slimmer 360! The old 360s had such a high failure rate due to heat that making the system even smaller seem to be stupid! The airflow insdie the original sized 360s was very limited casuing so many failures, and shirling the sysmte down even more just doesn't make sense.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The new 360 has been designed to avoid the failure issue. The cost of making them is cheaper since it's 5 year old tech, the required size for everything has been reduced (thus, less heat created to begin with), and I think it even has software locks that will tell you if the system is getting too hot so you can turn it off.

 

[mattCR]

It's underwent two die shrinks and a chip reduction. It runs considerably cooler and with less power then ever before.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

In our household we are having a lot of fun with the Kinect. I don't see it (yet) as a useful thing for "hard core" games like CoD or other shooters, but for people like my wife and kids who aren't real gamers, its a lot of fun and even the non workout games keep you moving. I guess its a matter of expectations. If Microsoft wants to use it as a way to reach out to non-gamers and get them interested I think they have a successful product. If they want gamers to stick out their finger and say "bang-bang" they have a ways to go. Its a hit at my house.

 

[Hanson]

My observation about the Kinect is that the random gesticulating is going to get real old real fast. And the controls are so loose and inaccurate that you can't design a real game -- it's just flailing about.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I bought a Kinect, 250 GB bundle and Dance Central. After seeing stories, pictures, and videos of people breaking stuff and thinking they (along with everyone who did the same with the Wii) were idiots, I ended up breaking one of the bulbs/covers on my living room ceiling fan. A minor problem with no serious damage, but still pretty ironic. Since then, I pushed the couch back a little bit and I'm good so far.


Kinect Adventures is the same thing as Sports Champions: a good show piece that can hold your attention while you play, but leave no desire to return to. Dance Central, on the other hand, is a blast. The main problem I have is that the songs are all edited to be shorter and the freestyle section in EVERY SONG gets annoying, since I just stand in place and wait for it to be over. I haven't played with any friends yet and I bet freestyling is fun in that context, but it annoys me right now.


I was more interested in getting the 250 GB unit than Kinect, and I still kind of am.